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Liverpool need a striker. Manchester City want Raheem Sterling. And Manchester City also have a few spare strikers lying around. It’s a situation rather crying out for rumours of a swap deal, as rare as such arrangements are in English football, and sure enough one has popped up.
According to the Mirror, Liverpool signalled to City that sending a striker the other way could help to bridge the gap in their opposing valuations of Raheem Sterling, who the Reds are holding out for £50M for but who City have so far said they will not pay more than £40M for. That striker was meant to be Edin Dzeko.
Dzeko, though, said no. With rumours of Arsenal interest in the 29-year-old, Dzeko is claimed to have rejected the chance to move down the road to Merseyside. He also reportedly has no interest in joining Everton, who have been linked to him in recent months, as he is holding out for Champions League football.
If he can’t get that—either with Arsenal or some other club in England or abroad—then Dzeko will remain with the Citizens, who he made 31 appearances for in all competitions last season while scoring six goals and four assists. It’s a return that should leave potential suitors wondering if he’s past his best.
While it’s true that most of his appearances came off the bench, limiting his total minutes, he still only scored a goal roughly every 250 minutes he was on the pitch, just a whisper better than a goal every three games. Along with a dire 7% strike rate, 2014-15 was not kind to Edin Dzeko. In fact it was career-worst stuff.
Whether it was just a dip in form, a one-off bad season, or the start of the player’s decline, though, it looks as if it will fall to somebody other than Liverpool to find out. If the Reds really are looking for a part-swap deal, though, the good news is City have at least one other unwanted but talented spare lying around.
